Larger, Diverse Class of 1Ls Join USF
August 24, 2009
The USF School of Law welcomed a new class of 272 first-year law students last week who were chosen from nearly 4,000 applicants.
First-year law students end orientation week by volunteering at the Law In Motion Service Saturday.
The entering class, which includes 227 full-time students and 45 part-time students, is one of the school's largest incoming classes.
With 36 percent students of color and 59 percent women, the new class demonstrates the law school's commitment to diversity and high academic standards, Dean Jeffrey Brand said. The median LSAT score of incoming students is 158 and the median GPA is 3.41.
New students arrived for their first day of orientation on Tuesday, followed by an orientation dinner that evening. The week ended with an information fair on Friday, where upper-classmen, administrators, and student organizations answered questions and helped familiarize new students with the law school.
Dean Jeffrey Brand spoke at the orientation dinner on Tuesday night, providing the new law students with words of praise and encouragement.
"You are smart," Brand said to the 1Ls. "More than 4,000 of you vied to be one of the 270 students here tonight. You are diverse,buttressing our belief that a great legal education is only possible if there are diverse folks—multiracial, multiethnic, differing sexual orientations, differing religious backgrounds, believers and non-believers—sharing their experiences and perspectives."